New Zealand English: How to write times and dates

What’s the time, Mr Wolfy?
Four o’clock ... or is it 4 pm? Or 4.00 p.m.?

This was a game I played when I was young. But I never had to write it down. What if you did? How would you write it?

​It can be confusing when deciding how to write times and dates, especially with so many different ways of doing it. 

​New Zealand English follows the British system for the most part. Here is an outline of the most accepted ways of formatting dates and times in New Zealand English. Whichever way you choose, remember to stay consistent, either within that document or manuscript, or across the entire company’s written material. As always, if your company has a different format in their house style, follow that.

Times
Whether you spell out or use numerals for times depends on the style of the writing or where the reference to time is being used. Either way is correct.

When the time is vague or it doesn’t matter if it is not exact, you can spell out the words. With o’clock, the number is always spelled out.

• At four o’clock in the morning
• 4 o’clock in the morning ✘
• half past four
• four thirty
• four thirty-five 
• (a) quarter to four

When the time is specific, numerals are used. There are different ways to write the time in numerals. A colon or full stop is correct (though in New Zealand, a full stop is more common). There is usually a space between the numeral and the am or pm, but not always. As long as it is consistent.

• 8 am or 8am – no need for the 0s.
• 10.30 pm or 10.30pm
• 10.30 p.m. (this is the Oxford Style Manual preference)

However, in fiction, it is preferable to spell it out in dialogue, even when it is specific.

• “He was supposed to catch the train at five thirty-three,” she said.

 
Twenty-four hour time is shown as:

• 1200 = noon
• 2400 or 0000 = midnight
• 0001 = 12.01 am
• 1438 – 2.38 pm
• At 1500 hours (or 1500h)

 
Dates
Dates in New Zealand English are formatted without commas:

• On 12 October
• On 12 October 2018
• In October 2018

 
A comma is used when the day of the week is added.

• Monday, 12 October 2018

If using it in a sentence, there is a second comma after the year.
               

• On Monday, 12 October 2018, we went to the fair.

 
Do not use -st and -th with a figure when also mentioning the month.

• On 12th August ✘
• Monday, 12th August 2018 ✘
• We are going on the 12th ✔

Note: superscript is no longer used in writing with ordinal numbers except in mathematical contexts; therefore, do not use superscript for ordinal numbers in dates.
 
There is no comma in years, unless it is a longer date. 

• 2018
• 10,000 BC

 
For abbreviations use the format date/month/year.
​

• 12/10/18 or 12/10/2018
• 12.10.18 or 12.10.2018

NOT: 10/12/18, as this is the American format of month/date/year.
 
Decades 
Words or figures can be used for decades.

• The sixties
• 1960s (no apostrophe)
• In his seventies
• In his 70s

 Note: in formal writing it is preferable not to use ‘60s.
 
When speaking of two decades, write both out in full.
  

• 1970s and 1980s             
• 1970s and ‘80s ✘

 
When the name of a decade is used to describe a social or cultural period, use words.

• The twenties was the time of flappers and silent films.
• The great depression occurred in the 1920s.

 
Centuries
It is a style choice whether to spell out or use numerals for centuries. Oxford style is to spell out, but in informal writing, it has become common to use figures for centuries.

• 17th century
• seventeenth century

Note: superscript is no longer used except in mathematical contexts.
 
To abbreviate centuries in notes, references and tables use c. or cent. with a numeral.

• 14th c.
• 21st cent.

 
For adjectival use, use a hyphen.

• A fourth-century building
• An early 17th-century play
• A mid-seventeenth-century book

 
Eras
For the BC and AD use small caps (which, to my horror, my website platform can't format), closeup with numbers, but spaced with words or letters, and the c. only refers to the date immediately after it, so needs to be repeated if needed.

• c.50 BC–c. AD 20

When spelled out, the AD should be after the words.

• In the third century AD

 
Date ranges 
When writing date ranges, use an en dash, not a hyphen.

• 1999-2000 ✘
• 1999–2000

 
Dates that cross a century boundary or are specific dates of a person’s birth and death should not be elided.

• 1698–1703
• 1698–03 ✘

 
A range in BC should always be in full to prevent confusion. Again, the BC and AD should be in small caps.

• 175–22 BC (cf.  175–122 BC)
• 65–8 BC is 57 years, not 3 years, long

 
When describing a range, use the from … to … format, the between ... and ... format, or an en dash. Be careful not to blend the three formats.

• The period from 1989 to 1999
• The period 1989–1999
• The period from 1898–1999 ✘
• The period between 1989 and 1999
• The period between 1989–1999 ✘

 
At the start of a sentence 
Just as all numbers should be spelled out at the start of a sentence, so should years. Or the sentence can be rewritten.
​

• 1856 was a difficult year. ✘
• It was a difficult year in 1856.
• Eighteen fifty-six was a difficult year.

 
​
What next?
If you have written a book in New Zealand English and this all sounds too overwhelming, I can help. 

I am a copy-editor and proofreader based in New Zealand. My business, Clearlingo Editing and Proofreading, caters to all writers of fiction and non-fiction books. I can discuss with you where your book is at and what you need to do next.
​
For more information on how I can help you make your book shine, please contact me on: www.clearlingo.co.nz/contact.

I would love to hear from you.​
 


Sources:
Hughes, J., & Wallace, D. (2010). Fit to Print : The Writing & Editing Style Guide for Aotearoa New Zealand. Wellington, New Zealand: Dunmore Publishing.
Chicago Manual of Style
Oxford University Press, (2016). New Oxford Style Manual (3rd ed.). United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.